New Orleans police officer morale is target of support group

A group that represents New Orleans police officers is launching a campaign to gauge officer morale and faith in departmental strategies and practices. NOPD Capt. Michael Glasser, head of the Police Association of New Orleans, said Monday that a survey of the police force will highlight issues facing the rank-and-file and help pinpoint matters that need to be addressed.

Glasser alleged that Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas and his administration have dismissed officers' concerns, ranging from rising crime and questionable practices to failing crime-fighting strategies and management deficiencies. The survey, which will be conducted online during the next two weeks, should provide a clear picture, Glasser said.

"What we need is the ability to see if we have hundreds of happy cops, as the superintendent says, or if the problems are as pervasive as we think it is," Glasser said.

The PANO survey will be overseen by local criminologist Peter Scharf of Tulane University. The responses will be tallied and analyzed and the results will be published later this month.

The NOPD conducted a similar survey of officers in October 2010 that had mixed results. The survey showed that officers overwhelmingly valued the importance of their work, yet some had reservations about the agency and its commitment to training. About a third of the police force responded to the NOPD's online survey. At the time, Serpas said his administration had taken steps to remedy some of the complaints, adding that the NOPD was not a department in crisis.

NOPD spokeswoman Remi Braden said Monday that PANO had not contacted the department about its survey or about "its construction or its methodology." She added: "We will have more NOPD surveys in the future, as the information -- if collected in a proper, effective manner -- can be beneficial to the department."